In Abzu, you play as some sort of scuba-diving android. You make your way deeper into the sea, finding little drone submersibles to help you open giant metal, triangular doors. As you progress, you find temples underwater, surrounded by sparkly dense water you can't swim through. There's always a portal in the top of the temple, taking you to some other, larger temple where you offer up a glowy blue orb from your chest that prompts a burst of life and growth from the around the temple. Could be a lot of kelp fluttering in the waves, or a trio of orcas bursting out of that portal.
Broadly, your goal is to restore the life to the seas that was stolen by the immense inverted metal pyramid (all its many, many associated smaller inverted metal pyramids.) The only way I could find that you can die is get too close to the smaller inverted pyramids (which will flash and blare warnings before electrocuting you if you get too close.) But if they fry you, you simply respawn a moment later, though they can then fry you again.
I was pretty concerned about the Great White Shark I encountered early on, which ate one of the little submersible drones that was helping me. Mostly because I could not figure out how I was going to escape if it came after me. You can find power-ups that increase the length of your flippers, which gives you a momentary speed boost, similar to the scarf that lets you fly in Journey. But the boost, a) doesn't last very long, and b) isn't nearly enough for you to outrun the shark. Fortunately, it turns out you and the shark are on the same side. Underwater pals!
Noooooooo, underwater pal!
Mostly, the game is about letting you enjoy the pretty scenery. There are mosaics to look at, cut scenes where you descend deep into the ocean alongside blue whales. Nothing actually tries to eat you, and you can hitch rides on the larger animals if you get close enough (and can remember the right button, which was my problem.) Watch giant squids fluoresce, or swim into a swirling mass of tuna and just enjoy being in the center of a living hurricane. You aren't a fast swimmer compared to everything else, but the controls are responsive, so its easy to twist and weave and flip as you swim. It lets you feel graceful.
There are smaller versions of the glowy water that can reintroduce small animals into certain locations, and shark statues to interact with. You can just sit on the statues, or there's the option to meditate. Meditation has you become one with any of the sea life around you, so you can watch a sea turtle swim around, or switch to something else by moving the control stick. Sometimes the thing you're communing with gets eaten, but you switch to another lifeform nearby. The game will let you do that for as long as you want.
The music has a strong Fantasia vibe in places, especially when you're weaving through kelp fields or doing a leap out of the water with a bunch of dolphins. Lots of string instruments, very airy and punchy. The tempo picks up during the "jet stream" sequences, where you're pushed along in a strong current, and can boost your speed by swimming through schools of fish(?)
It works nicely as a contrast to the parts inside the giant pyramid, where everything is predominated by a stifling orange glow that gives the whole thing an unpleasant, oppressive feel. You're still not under any time constraint, but I didn't find myself wanting to linger in those areas, eager to get back into the open water. Because the rest of the time, things are tranquil. Even if you're putting some great wrong to right, none of this sea life knows about that. They're just going about their business, and you're some odd thing in the water with them.
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